By Matt Kennedy, OSU College of Agricultural Sciences
Resilient Teaching Voices Series
What is resiliency to you? As defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary: It is the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change. I’ve been teaching at Oregon State University since the fall of 2008 and as I look at the definition of resiliency, I’ve been practicing it since I began and just never really knew it. I was told by a mentor and former teacher of my own, Mr. Tom Parker, “There are three things certain in life: death, taxes, and change so be ready for them”. But when it comes to teaching, of course change is the one thing we need to always be ready for whether we like it or not as our world evolves.
One constant “change” for me, since when I first began teaching, is seeking out for student feedback. After all, how can I make my classes better so that the next group of students can have a more rewarding experience and take more from my classes? The reason being that our students change from year to year or term to term, so why don’t we also change to make it better. I’m always willing to change my teaching approach to lectures, assignments given and even modify the class structure as long as we make a positive impact for the majority of our student population.
Resiliency in education just means being ready to adapt, change for the better and show our students that being human is normal.
Matt Kennedy
The methods I use to seek out feedback include:
- Taking the last 5-10 minutes of class and actually just ask them to be honest and provide feedback. (I joke with students that I have my big boy pants on and that can be critical as they want as long as it is constructive criticism.)
- Adding additional questions to the University Student Evaluations. (Not the best method, knowing not all students are willing to do them)
- Using a Google Form to create an open survey for students to voice their thoughts, but also ask them some questions such as their thoughts on how a certain assignment went and ways to modify it or even how I present material in class (for example, skeleton notes versus filled in).
- Just simply asking a student or group of students what they think as we’re leaving the classroom and seeing their thoughts.
Another “change” that helps with my resiliency is flexibility to schedules and deadlines. Flexibility could mean the world to a student who is struggling with balancing multiple classes, work, family, clubs/activities and who knows what else is going on in their personal life. This flexibility to bend but not break is key and not only making sure that change is allowed but that students feel respected and valued. I feel it makes us look more like a human, not a power figure. We all have things going on and are battling, therefore just being aware of each other can mean a lot. I have found it potentially leads to more engagement for a student knowing that they can work with the professor. But we still need to maintain structure and rigidity in order for our students to still respect us. That’s why I’m willing to work with students as long as they work with me and ask for flexibility before deadlines and such.
Resiliency in education just means being ready to adapt, change for the better and show our students that being human is normal. We all, students and teachers, know that nothing ever goes according to plan and are willing to roll with the changes.
About the author: Matt Kennedy is a Senior Instructor II in the OSU Animal and Rangeland Sciences Department. He teaches a wide variety of animal science courses from 100-level to 400-level classes and has taught in multiple modalities (traditional, hybrid, and online).
Editor’s note: This is part of a series of guest posts about resilience and teaching strategies by members of the Fall ’25 Resilient Teaching Faculty Learning Community facilitated by CTL. The opinions expressed in guest posts are solely those of the author.
Top image generated with Microsoft Copilot.
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